Of Snakes and Ravens
by KamikazeBee
Summary: June 5th marked the day the Malfoy family was irreparably changed—some would say for the better, some would say for the worst. On this day, Lucius and Narcissa welcomed not one child, but two. Two precious bundles of flailing arms, gurgles, screams, tears, gummy smiles, rosy cheeks, and wispy blonde hair.
1. Prologue

June 5th marked the day the Malfoy family was irreparably changed—some would say for the better, some would say for the worst. On this day, Lucius and Narcissa welcomed not one child, but _two_. Two precious bundles of flailing arms, gurgles, screams, tears, gummy smiles, rosy cheeks and wispy blonde hair.

They named the boy Draco Lucius Malfoy – because of _course_ his heir would carry _both_ his names—and the girl became Cassia Lacerta Malfoy—because Narcissa wanted her to know all her heritage, not just that she was a Malfoy. And she was a _Malfoy_ with all the weight that name carried. But she was also a Black, and so she was called Lacerta after the constellation that was nestled near Cygnus, near… (Andromeda, though Narcissa would never admit the yearning she felt to be near her once closest sister). And most importantly, to Narcissa at any rate, this was _her_ daughter. And so, she was called Cassia, for the beautiful golden flowering tree her husband had brought back from a trip to India (it now resided in their little greenhouse, Cassia loved it). A flower, just like Narcissa.

And the Malfoy family was changed. Their once strict decorum challenged at every turn by their rambunctious twins.

One—one child they might have curbed. One child they might have managed but _twins?_ They never stood a chance to the two's deadly partnership. Nor did they want to, in the end.

Draco was a proud little boy, who looked up to his father nearly more than anyone in the world. Nearly. Because of course there was _Mother_. He was stubborn, impulsive and a slight bit reckless. Always eager to be the center of attention. He was thoughtful, kind, and immensely loyal to those he thought deserved it but quick to judge someone as _unworthy_. He was distinctly intelligent, though didn't often deign to wield it.

Cassia was the apple of her father's eye. And while he doted on both of his children, everyone knew that she had him wrapped around her small, pale finger. She was a curious child, with more questions than they had answers to- which forced her to become resourceful in her quest for answers. With a wicked devious side, she was far too clever for her own good. And while quieter than her older-by-two-hours brother, she held such an innate sense of _life_ and _happiness_ that many people were pulled into her ever growing circle of acquaintances.

They were an unstoppable team and they wouldn't have had it any other way.

And so, the Malfoy family become something entirely different than anyone would have thought or expected.


	2. Chapter 1

**The Art of Making Friends and Enemies**

The arrival of Hogwarts letters spurred the Malfoy family to visit Diagon Alley in search of school supplies. As usual, I trailed behind my family as we strode proudly through the alley, much more preoccupied with the fanciful wares that filled the store windows than minding my parents.

There was a particular creamy yellow and white cat with large ears and a bushy tail lounging in the window of Magical Menagerie that had caught my attention. It's bright yellow-green eyes strangely intelligent. It seemed to be staring at me as much as I was staring at it.

"Come on, Lizard," Draco groused, grabbing my hand and tugging me from the shop window, "Mother and Father don't like to dawdle."

"But Dre, did you see that cat?" I protested, but followed his lead, "I think it was a kneazle! I've always wanted one."

"We're allowed a pet, I'm sure Father would let you have it."

"Yes, but were only allowed _one_. I wouldn't be allowed an owl." I said it all with the sweetly innocent look I often used to get my way. One I knew Draco recognized easily.

He rolled his eyes, but gave me what I was fishing for, "You can always use mine."

I thanked him with a wide grin and a kiss on the cheek that he immediately recoiled from, wiping his cheek in disgust as I cackled at him.

"If you keep on like that, I'll change my mind," my twin frowned at her.

My innocent expression was back but accompanied by what I'm sure was a devilish gleam in my eye. "I shall be on my best behavior from now on," I promised.

Draco hardly believed it, but he—like our father—had never been able to deny me anything.

"Come on," I said with a grin, pulling him ahead of our parents, hurrying towards Flourish and Blotts, "We're wasting the day and after collecting our books we need to be fitted for robes. Who knows how long that will take?"

Our parents, all elegance and grace, raised perfectly formed blonde eyebrows at our display but they couldn't have surprised at my impatience. As much as I loved my nice silk dresses and pretty skirts, I'd much rather be home with my nose in a book than standing around being fitted.

Mother smiled down at us and took Draco's free hand, reminding us that we must keep to decorum and running through the streets was not proper.

Father followed at a slower pace letting lose an exasperated sigh. There was, however, no fooling me and I caught the fond smile that momentarily touched his lips.

Flourish and Blotts was one of my favorite shops in Diagon Alley. It held every book imaginable and the was better than treasure. I took one step in and welcomed the familiar scent of old parchment and ink—even if it was a bit musty. At least it wasn't too crowded today. I would easily be able to find that book on Merpeople around the world that I'd spotted last time.

"Find your textbooks and I'll buy them while you head to Madam Malikin's," Father ordered in his no-nonsense way.

"Father—"

"Restrain yourself to _one_ extra book, Cassia. You still have a pile of half-read one's in your bedroom." I couldn't help the slight frown that formed before I quickly disappeared into the stacks, Draco close behind. We returned a few moments later with a stack of books each.

Father collected out books, but paused when I handed him mine, "I said _one_ extra book."

I'd been half hoping he wouldn't notice. "But Father, I just couldn't decide. This is the first time we'll be able to use wands so _obviously_ the book on charms will be the most useful, but I've been thinking about the Merpeople one since last time we came and I'm just so curious—"

He cut me off with a raised hand, "Fine. _Two_ books."

I beamed up at him and he sent us along to get our robes, while Mother visited Ollivander's.

"You're such a _nerd_, Lizard." Draco teased as we took our spots on the stools and the seamstress witches moved around, taking our measurements.

I would have swatted at him, were nearer, but as it was I simply adopted a haughty tone and turned up nose to him, "A nerd maybe, but I can still beat you on the Quidditch pitch."

"You can _not_."

"Can _too_."

Our bickering was interrupted by the arrival of another boy around our age. He had black wild hair, and bright green eyes behind thick glasses. Glasses that were broken and only held together by what seemed to be tape. Which was strange. I _knew_ there was a spell to repair simple things like that, Mother and Father had to used it whenever Draco got into too much mischief and broke something. Why hadn't his parents fixed them?

Maybe they couldn't fix them?

"Hello," Draco greeted the boy stiffly, obviously still hung up on our interrupted argument, "Hogwarts?"

The boy nodded but didn't say a word as he took the spot next to me. He seemed rather shy.

"Us too," I said with an excited smile, "I'm so excited, I can't wait. Can you?"

He returned my smile, albeit more reservedly, "I can't believe it, it sounds amazing."

"Yes, all of Mother and Father's stories sound fantastic. It's why we decided to attend Hogwarts—"

"And because Mother would have a fit if we went too far—" my twin added from the other side.

"Did your parents tell you stories?" I asked, curiously. But the boy's face fell and I knew I'd made an error.

"Uh, no. They're dead." He said it so bluntly, I was momentarily taken aback. I couldn't imagine not having my parents, but it made sense. The boy was rather disheveled, with clothes too large and too ratty. He had no parents to fix his glasses.

"Oh—oh I'm terribly sorry," and I was. Even Draco shot the kid a sympathetic glance. "Well, I'm sure they'd be proud you're attending."

"They did attend, didn't they? They were our sort?" Draco asked, curiously, not knowing or caring how insensitive it was. I shot him a glare behind the boy's back.

"If you mean were they magical, yes, they were." He said it defensively—proudly.

I silenced Draco's follow up statement with a stern look, Diagon Alley was hardly the place to be spouting off anti-muggle ideas.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?" I prompted the boy, smoothly changing the topic.

"Harry—Harry Potter." And suddenly all eyes were on him.

I recovered first, but I knew my eyes were still wide with surprise, "Oh. I'm Cassia Malfoy, and this is my brother Draco. A pleasure to meet you, Harry." I offers him my hand and he shakes it.

"You're all done, love," Madam Malakin prompts Harry and he jumps down from his stool, collects his new robes and heads to the door where he is met by a massive man holding ice cream.

I look to my twin, his wide eyes a mirror of my own, "That was _Harry Potter_."

"_Harry Potter _is in our year."

"Father will never believe it."

As it turns out, their father was surprised that they met the Boy-Who-Lived while getting their wardrobes fitted, but he had known that Harry Potter would be in their year. Or at least close to it. He advised they try to make friends with him—he had to be a very strong wizard to have defeated the Dark Lord.

The afternoon ended without further incident. We collected our new school robes and everyday robes and moved along quickly to Olivander's. Draco got a hawthorn wand, with a unicorn hair core, my wand was a much more stunning silver lime wood with a phoenix tail feather core.

By the time we met back with Father, he had already collected our various ingredients for potions class and the other necessities. It was easy to convince our parents into Magical Menagerie and Draco quickly latched onto a rather intimidating eagle owl that he dubbed Hercules, no matter how I told him it was an unoriginal name. The cat I had spotted in the window turned out to be just a normal cat. And even though my parents offered to purchase it, I had somehow become set on having a kneazel. None of which they had at the Menagerie. I left the shop empty handed and disappointed—annoyed with my twin's boasting about his new pet.

It had been an exciting and eventful day and despite being exhausted, I found myself unable to sleep that night. Instead my dreams were full of fire and twisting—choking vines.

The weeks until September 1st, simultaneously dragged by and were over in the blink of an eye. I very suddenly found myself seated on the Hogwarts Express well on the way to Hogwarts.

The Hogwarts Express wasn't nearly as exciting as I'd thought it would be. And much, much longer than I'd imagined.

We were hours in to our journey, with who knows how many still to go and I'd run out of things to keep me occupied. The trolley witch had already made her rounds, Draco and the goons had stocked up on a sickening amount of sweets, and I'd already spend more time than I could bear with Pansy and Daphne.

It wasn't that I disliked them, but every conversation with the two pure-blood girls felt like a carefully choreographed dance. Or maybe a battle. Merlin knows a sharp smile and the right words could kill. It was just a never-ending competition and I hardly had the patience for it now.

I wish I hadn't packed my books at the _bottom _of my trunk.

"Dre, I'm bored." I whined as I flopped myself across the seats dramatically. I'd interrupted whatever conversation they'd been having but I didn't feel bad. Conversations between Draco and the goons- Crabbe and Goyle- were one-sided affairs and it was hardly interesting to hear her brother brag about the new broom father had bought him again.

He simply flicked my head in reproach, "Go bother your own friends."

I may have pouted. "They're so exhausting."

If he had a different brilliant idea, I wasn't to find out. The compartment door slid open and a girl with rather bushy hair stepped in, a distraught, round-faced boy in tow. They were looking for the boy's lost toad, but what caught my attention was the tidbit about Harry Potter being in the carriage behind us.

When the strange pair left, I shot Draco a look and he immediately knew what I meant. "After you," he said, trying to mask his own excitement. Afterall, it was _Harry Potter_ and the last time we'd seem him we hadn't known it was _him_ until he was walking out the door of Madame Millikin's shop. At least neither of us had managed to say anything to offend the Boy-Who-Lived during our short conversation.

It didn't take long to find him, and I stepped into the compartment he shared with a redhaired boy, a grin on my face. Draco was close behind me, and Crabbe and Goyle close behind him. "Harry," I greeted him cheerfully, "There you are. We heard you were in a compartment around here."

"You should have come found us. We would have let you sit with us," Draco added, taking in Harry's companion and finding him less than desirable. There'd long been bad blood between our family and the Weasley's—and surely the boy _had_ to be a Weasley. We were the epitome of what a pure-blood family should be, and they were, well, _not_.

"Er- right. Sorry." Harry was seemingly distracted, looking behind us at the larger boys. I suppose they were intimidating, looming behind us as they were.

Draco seemed to notice as well, "Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," he said dismissively.

"Really, Harry," I started, pulling the attention back to myself, "You could have saved me from boredom. And the pain of listening to these three prattle on for hours." Draco didn't seem to appreciate the cheeky grin I sent him as I flicked my hair over my shoulder.

The Weasley was sputtering now, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your names?" A distinct twinge of pink had risen on his cheeks as he looked at me.

I suppressed an eyeroll. "How rude of us, I'm Cassia Malfoy and this is my brother Draco."

His face soured at our surname and he looked at us both with barely concealed disdain.

Draco caught the change as well. "You have a problem with that?" He demanded, fixing the offending boy with a glare that the redhead returned. "No need to ask who you are," Draco continued with a sneer, "Red hair and hand-me-down clothes? You _must _be a Weasley."

Draco's gaze snapped back to Harry's and it looked like he'd continue but I laid a steadying hand on him arm. "It's hardly worth it," I said as I tugged him back towards the doorway, sparing one last look at the infamous Harry Potter, "The way he's going, he'll be dead before he turns twenty." The sentence buzzed strangely through me and for a moment I felt unwaveringly sure they were the truth.

"Well," I said once we'd returned to our compartment, "At least that wasn't boring."

Draco rolled his eyes and teased me for my dramatic exit. I didn't tell him about the strange feeling I'd had. It was more than likely just my imagination.

The remainder of the ride went surprisingly fast, my mind now full of the possibilities the future held.

Saying I'd been nervous for the Sorting Ceremony would be a lie. The outcome had always seemed inevitable: I'd be in Slytherin. Just like my parents and theirs before them and theirs before them.

It wasn't until I was sitting on that stool, the Sorting Hat hanging partially over my eyes that I'd even entertained the idea that maybe I _wouldn't_ be a Slytherin. And that was mainly because I'd been sitting there for _minutes_.

The old rag was weighing the pros and cons over putting me in Slytherin or Ravenclaw.

If I ignored the fact that this talking hat held my fate in his proverbial hands and instead focused on the fact that this _hat_ was _sentient_ and capable of speech and intelligent thought, I was able to tune out the murmurs that were starting up in the crowd before me. How was the Sorting Hat even created? Was he technically alive? Could an object even have a gender? If it were possible to recreate the magic it took to make him, would it result in an identical Sorting Hat? Personality and all? If not, and the hat was destroyed, would that be considered a death?

I had many questions in regard to the Sorting Hat.

He chuckled, "Ambitious—yes. Cunning—yes. But above all—curious." And then, after a full five minutes of me being perched on this bloody stool he finally made a decision: "RAVENCLAW!"

I sat there stunned for a moment, until Professor McGonnagal plucked the dirty only rag from my head, vaguely recognizing the sound of cheering. I stood on leaden feet and caught my brother's eye before I made my way to where my new house awaited me. I'm sure I looked as stunned as he did—he was my mirror, after all. My twin. We were inseparable. Or we _were_ inseperable.

I took a seat on the long table filled with blue and bronze- a shaky smile on my face as unfamiliar hands clapped me on the back and the cheering faded.

"Malfoy, Draco." Professor McGonnagal called.

My brother stepped up, glancing at me once more before taking his seat. The hat barely touched his head for a second before it roared, "SLYTHERIN!"

My stomach twisted, and I thought I might be sick.

It was supposed to be inevitable. How had it suddenly gone all wrong?

Draco caught my eye as he took his seat only one table over from me. I was mildly relived to see bits of panic in him—at least I wasn't the only one.

The sorting continued, Pansy was called and sorted into Slytherin. She took the open seat beside Draco and sent me a triumphant smirk. I grit my teeth but forced my face to remain in its cool mask. Yes, she'd won this round.

I hardly payed attention to the rest of the sorting. Only really tuning in when "Potter, Harry" was called. He got Gryffindor, and I watched unsurprised as he took his seat surrounded by red—the red of Gryffindor and the red hair of Weasley boys.

The walk to Ravenclaw tower was long, and I should have payed better attention to the path we took. I'd undoubtedly need it later—I refused to get lost in this bloody castle. But my thoughts were occupied elsewhere.

I couldn't think of a single relative that _hadn't _been in Slytherin. Well, except for mother's cousin Sirius. But look how _that _turned out. He was now rotting away in Azkaban, the Black inheritance no longer his to claim.

Logically, I knew I was being irrational, but part of me still worried. And the question swirled in my mind. Was I now doomed to a similar fate?

At least I was a Ravenclaw and not a Gryffindor. That would have been much worse. And at least I'd made the Sorting Hat work for his decision, hatstalls were rare, after all.

Robert Hilliard, our prefect, stopped us and turned to a large bronze knocker set into a door.

"What is eleven and 1 at the same time?" The knocker asked in an unexpectedly deep voice.

Robert pretended to ponder the riddle, giving us time to come up with the answer. I wondered if the knocker gave the same question every year to the first years or if he came up with something new but still relevant every time. Was the knocker sentient like the Sorting Hat? My quota for sentient objects had been reached for the day.

"A first year!" a girl with dark hair cut into a bob answered with a smile.

Robert congratulated her and ushered us all through the newly formed passage. The common room was lovely, wide and open with massive windows and bookshelves lining the walls.

We were directed to find our dorms through another doorway, near what I assumed was a large statue of Rowena Ravenclaw silently stood guard. The girls were sent up the left staircase and the boys up the right. It didn't take us long to find our beds, and I gratefully fell into mine.

This day had been exhausting on many levels and I just wanted to rest.

Unfortunately, sleep eluded me.

I was the first one up, ready, and out of the dorms the next day; hardly bothering to wish my roommates a good morning. The dark shadows under my eyes were a testament to how well I'd slept.

I was restless, a swarm of bees buzzing away in my stomach and veins. It was early, and barely anyone was up and about. Only the earliest risers making their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. I trailed a few older Ravenclaws down, making note of the route. I wasn't hungry, despite only picking at my dinner the night before. I'd been hoping Draco would already be up and anxious to see me.

Unfortunately, I spotted no pale blond hair that would mark my twin at any of the tables.

Instead of waiting around in the Hall, an anxious ball of nerves, I decided I might as well take a look around. Maybe a walk would help me relax.

The castle was massive, and honestly, whoever decided that they _wouldn't_ give us at least a weekend to familiarize ourselves with it was just cruel. The bloody stairs _moved_. They were just asking for all the first years to get lost and be late to classes.

I picked my way around, sticking mainly to the ground floor and poking my head into empty, abandoned classrooms. There was a surprising amount that seemed to go unused, and I recalled my parents discussing the drastic drop in enrollment over the last few years. Father was on the Board of Governors and many of them seemed to be concerned the drop off had to do with Dumbledore. Mother thought this was silly and pointed out that students around our year must have been conceived during or shortly after the War.

By the time I'd found a second courtyard, the castle seemed to be waking up. I made my way back to the Great Hall and was relived to spot Draco sitting at the Slytherin table with all his year mates. I hurried over and took the open seat next to him.

He wasn't even surprised to see me, and I knew he'd left the spot open just for me. "What took you so long?"

"Just having a look around," I explained, grabbing a croissant to pick at.

"Cassia," a far too familiar nasally voice crooned from across the table, "You look like you didn't sleep at all. Is the Ravenclaw Tower not to your liking?" Pansy was somehow still sporting the smug look she'd had at the feast the night before. I wasn't sure what she was trying to gain by picking at me. Certainly not Draco's affection, she knew he'd take my side every time. She must think that now I was off in Ravenclaw, she'd be the queen bee.

I rolled my eyes at her. The Parkinson's might be one of the Sacred-Twenty-Eight, but they were still leagues below us.

"It's quite beautiful actually, open and airy—and the _view_." I gushed, and gave her a saccharine smile, "Simply amazing. I hope the Slytherin rooms are accommodating. Though, don't snakes eat rats? Surrounded by so many, I can only wonder how long you'll survive."

She glared daggers at me, before very purposely turning away from me to talk to another first-year girl I didn't recognize.

Draco was eying me and I knew he was determining if I had indeed not slept the night before.

I shrugged at the question he didn't have to voice. "Mother and Father will be waiting to hear from us," I stated as nonchalantly as I could manage.

He nodded, understanding that I was immeasurably nervous about what they'd say once they heard I wasn't a Slytherin. "After dinner then," and popped a grape into his mouth. "On to more important things, have you got your schedule yet? What's it look like?"

It was times like this that I truly appreciated how well my twin and I understood each other. Draco knew I didn't want to discuss my sorting, and he also knew I needed to be reassured that it wouldn't change anything. That he'd bothered to save me a seat and ultimately considered the topic unimportant sent a wave a relief flowing through me and the bees in my veins quieted.

I hoped my parents would take the news with equal grace.


End file.
